The present invention relates to a double-bearing type reel used mainly for fishing of large fishes such as marlin and the like.
The double-bearing type reel is designed so that a spool rotates idle when a tension exceeding a predetermined value acts on a fishing line wound round the spool. The reason is that the line should be prevented from breaking when the line is pulled strongly by a fish. Accordingly, the double-bearing type reel has a built-in drag mechanism. In a sense, the drag mechanism is a clutch mechanism for allowing rotation of the spool when a rotary torque exceeding a predetermined value acts on the spool.
In a most general construction as the drag mechanism of the double-bearing type reel, a friction ring is fixed to a side face of the spool or to a disk fixed to a rotary shaft of the spool. According to this construction, when the spool is moved in an axial direction, the friction ring is pressed against a brake shoe to adjust rotary torque for rotating the spool to be large.
Further, a double-bearing type reel having a built-in drag mechanism using a electromagnetic clutch has been developed as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication Sho 62-38536. As shown in FIG. 16, this double-bearing type reel has a disk 03 of electric conductive material rotated together with a spool 01 and a magnet 04 disposed near the disk 03. Accordingly, when the spool 01 is rotated, eddy current occurs in the disk 03 to produce a magnetic field. This magnetic field enlarges rotary torque of the disk 03, therefore functions as a brake. The drag mechanism of this construction has a characteristic that the eddy current becomes larger and the braking function becomes stronger as rotational speed of the spool is increased.
The drag mechanism having the friction ring pressed against the brake shoe as well as the drag mechanism of electromagnetic clutch type has a fault that tension acting on the line becomes large as the line wound round the spool becomes little, because even if the drag mechanism rotates the spool with a constant torque, the diameter of winding of the line becomes small and tension of the line becomes large as the line wound round the spool becomes little. For example, if the diameter of winding of the line becomes half, tension of the line must be twice in order to rotate the spool at the same torque, because rotary torque given to the spool by the line is in proportion to the product of the diameter of winding of the line and the tension of the line.
FIG. 24 shows the fact that reversal torque of a conventional double-bearing type reel having the friction ring fixed to a side face of the spool becomes large as the diameter of the winding of the line becomes small. FIG. 24 is a graph showing change of tension acting on the line when the line is paid out from the spool at a constant speed. The abscissa shows time, namely amount of pay out of the line. It is clear that tension of the line becomes large abruptly when the line is pulled out long and the diameter of winding becomes small as the time lapses.
This means that the line becomes apt to be broken as the line is paid out long and the diameter of winding on the spool becomes small. If the drag mechanism is adjusted to make the spool rotate easily for preventing the line paid out long from breaking, tension of the line becomes very small when the long line is wound round the spool to make the diameter of winding large, and the line is pulled out long by a fish unnecessarily. If the drag mechanism is adjusted so that the line is not pulled out long, tension of the line becomes large and the line is apt to be broken when the diameter of winding becomes small.
A cause of the above-mentioned evil is that the line is wound round the rotary spool. In a reel such as a spinning reel in which the spool is fixed and the line is wound round the spool using a rotary line roll, such an evil does not occur, because the tension of the line is determined by a radius of rotation of the line roll. The radius of rotation of the line roll is always constant regardless of the diameter of winding of the line wound round the spool. Therefore, in the spinning reel, tension of the line can be adjusted to constant regardless of the diameter of winding on the spool. However, the spinning reel can not be used for fishing of a large fish such as marlin and the like, because tension acting on the line is so strong that it is impossible to wind the line round the spool using the line roll reasonably.
In the double-bearing type reel, the spool is rotated to wind the line round the spool directly, therefore the double-bearing type reel can be used for fishing that a strong tension acts on the line. Since the double-bearing type reel is used for fishing of a large fish such as marlin and the like, the line is used in the very critical condition. Namely, the line is used in a condition that the line is apt to be broken very easily. Further, in the double-bearing type reel, a very long line of some hundreds meter is used in order to weaken the large fish enough. Therefore, the diameter of winding of the line wounded round the spool changes largely.
The double-bearing type reel is used in a very severe condition that the line pulled by the large fish is apt to be broken suddenly and tension of the line changes largely in accordance with the diameter of winding on the spool. Therefore, in trolling of the large fish, it is the true state that percentage of fish finally drawn up on the ship to fish caught on fishhooks is very low, below scores of percents. The most important characteristic required for the double-bearing type reel is how the fish caught on the fishhook can be recovered on the ship.
In order to solve such a difficult problem, the present applicant has been developed a double-bearing type reel as described in Japanese Patent No. 2835583. According to this double-bearing type reel, the construction is very simple, change of tension of the line caused by change of the diameter of winding of the line wound round the spool is little, and it is possible to draw and recover the large fish effectively.
As shown in FIGS. 17-20, this double-bearing type reel has a spool 01 for winding up a line, and a drag mechanism 05 slipping to rotate (reverse) the spool when a predetermined tension acts on the line wound round the spool 01.
The drag mechanism 05 has all of the following constitutions (a)-(e).
(a) The drag mechanism comprises an inner shaft 06, an outer ring 07, a plurality of rollers 08 arranged between the inner shaft 06 and the outer ring 07 so as to roll, and a torque adjusting section 09 for moving the inner shaft 06 and the outer ring 07 relatively in the axial direction.
(b) The outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 have tapered roll surfaces 010 for the rollers 08, and between the tapered roll surfaces 010 are arranged the rollers 08 so as to roll. The roll surface 010 has a taper angle of xcex1 (FIG. 21).
(c) The roller 08 disposed between the roll surfaces 010 is inclined against rotary axis of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06. The inclination angle of the roller against the rotary axis of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 is set to xcex2 (FIG. 21).
(d) The torque adjusting section 09 presses the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 to move them relatively in the axial direction. By the relative movement of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06, slip torque between the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 is adjusted so that when a tension exceeding a predetermined value acts on the line wound round the spool 01, the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 slip to each other and the spool 01 rotates to pay out the wound line.
(e) The torque adjusting section 09 comprises a pressing ring 026 pressing the outer ring 07 in the axial direction through a thrust bearing 025, a ring spring 027 abutting against the pressing ring 026 to push it, a nut member 028 movable in the axial direction but retained by a side cover 017 so as not to rotate, a screw member 029 engaging with a female screw provided in a center of the nut member 028, and a handling member 030 for rotating the screw member from outside, so that in accordance with operation of the handling member 030, the thrust bearing 025 pushes the outer ring 07 in the axial direction (to the right in FIG. 19) through a transmission mechanism constituted by the above-mentioned members. Accordingly the outer ring 07 moves in the axial direction relatively to the inner shaft 06. The side cover 017 is fixed onto a side surface of a main body frame 014.
The double-bearing type reel is constructed so that when the line is paid out from the spool 01 to bring the drag mechanism 05 into a heated state, thermal expansion of the outer ring 07 becomes smaller than that of the inner shaft 06 or thermal expansion of the inner shaft 06 becomes larger than that of the outer ring 07, to reduce fluctuation of tension of the line. Thus, tension of the line paid out is controlled so as to be uniform.
In order to make deformations of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 owing to thermal expansion different from each other, the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 are made of respective metals having different thermal expansions, or a radiating fin 032 is provided on the outer ring 07 to cool the outer ring 07 more than the inner shaft 06.
The spool 01 and the drag mechanism 05 are locally contacted with each other to reduce thermal conduction and connected to each other so as not rotate relatively. Namely, the spool 01 and the drag mechanism 05 are connected through steel balls 018 each disposed between a connecting grooves 022 formed on an outer circumferential surface of a connecting ring 019 integrally connected to the spool 01 and a corresponding connecting groove 022 formed on an inner circumferential surface of a connecting cylindrical portion 021 of the outer ring 07.
The drag mechanism 05 has seal rings for closing both ends of a gap formed between the roll surfaces 010 of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 to dispose the rollers 08. The seal rings 023 prevent sea water and foreign materials from entering into the gap between the roll surfaces 010.
Next, action of the double-bearing type reel will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21.
The inner shaft 06 of the drag mechanism 05 is connected to a rotary shaft 012 which is rotated by a handle 011, and the outer ring 07 is connected to the spool 01. Rotary torque of the spool 01 is adjusted as follows.
The torque adjusting section 09 pushes the outer ring 07 in the axial direction as shown by the arrow A (to the right in FIG. 20, to the left in FIG. 21).
When the outer ring 07 is pushed in the direction shown by the arrow A, the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 are pressed to each other so that the gap between the roll surfaces 010 of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 becomes narrow. Therefore, the roller 08 presses strongly against the roll surfaces 010. The roller 08 rolls on the roll surfaces 010 of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06, but a part of a surface of the roller 08 slides along the roll surfaces 010, because the roll surfaces 010 are tapered and the center axis of the roller 08 is inclined against the center axis of the inner shaft 06 and the outer ring 07.
The roller 08 does not roll lightly since the roller 08 moves rubbing the roll surfaces 010 by a part of the surface of the roller 08. As the roller 08 is pressed against the roll surfaces 010 more strongly, a smooth rotation of the roller 08 along the roll surfaces 010 becomes more difficult. If the rotation of the roller 08 is difficult, the outer ring 07 shows a tendency to rotate together with the inner shaft 06 and a large rotary torque for rotating the outer ring 07 is required. The rotary shaft 012 rotated by the handle 011 is provided with an one-way clutch 013, so that the rotary shaft 012 can rotate only in one direction to wind up the line (direction of the arrow C). In this state, if a strong tension acts on the line wound round the spool 01, the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 slip mutually to rotate the outer ring 07 in the direction of the arrow B, since the rotary shaft 012 does not rotate reversely. If the outer ring 07 does not slip with the inner shaft 06, the spool 01 does not rotate. Namely, a reverse rotary torque of the spool 01 can be adjusted by adjusting a rotary torque of slipping of the outer ring 07 to the inner shaft 06.
In FIG. 21, if the inner shaft 06 is fixed and the outer ring 07 is pushed in the direction shown by the arrow A and rotated in the direction shown by the arrow B, the inner shaft 06 rotates relatively to the outer ring 07 in the direction shown by the arrow C. At that time, the roller 08 eats into the gap between the tapered roll surfaces 010 and a large rotary torque is required to rotate the outer ring 07. As the outer ring 07 is pressed in the direction A more strongly, connection between the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 becomes stronger and the rotary torque required to rotate the outer ring 07 relatively to the inner shaft 06 becomes larger. Namely, as a force applied to the outer ring 07 to press the outer ring 07 in the direction A becomes larger, the rotary torque of the outer ring 07 becomes larger. If the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 are rotated relatively in directions opposite to the direction shown by the arrows B and C, the roller 08 does not eat into the gap between the roll surfaces 010 and the outer ring 07 can be rotated relatively to the inner shaft 06 lightly and freely. The drag mechanism 05 allows rotation of the outer ring 07 braking it when a predetermined reverse torque acts on the spool 01, therefore, the drag mechanism 05 is designed so that when the spool 01 is pulled by the line, the spool rotates in the direction shown by the arrow B in FIG. 21.
The rotary torque for rotating the outer ring 07 in the direction B with the inner shaft 06 fixed can be adjusted by the taper angle xcex1 of the roll surface 010 and the inclination angle xcex2 of the roller 08. In case that the taper angle a and the inclination angle xcex2 are too large or too small, eating of the roller 08 into the gap between the roll surfaces 010 is weak and the rotary torque is small. Therefore, the taper angle xcex1 and the inclination angle xcex2 are adjusted to optimum values taking a required rotary torque into consideration. For example, the taper angle xcex1 and the inclination angle xcex2 are set at about 15 degrees and about 20 degrees, respectively.
The reverse torque of the spool 01 (torque for rotating the spool 01 reversely) determines the maximum tension of the line. If the drag mechanism 05 is adjusted so that the spool 01 is allowed to rotate reversely with a low torque, the spool 01 rotates reversely to avoid a large tension acting on the line, because the spool 01 is rotated reversely by the tension of the line easily. To the contrary, if the reverse torque of the spool 01 is adjusted to be large by the drag mechanism 05, the spool is rotated reversely only when a large tension acts on the line, therefore the maximum tension of the line can be adjusted to be large.
In this drag mechanism 05, the reverse torque of the spool 01 is adjusted by a pressing force of the roller 08 against the roll surface 010. Namely, the reverse torque is a function of the pressing force of the roller 08 against the roll surface 010. The reverse torque can be kept in constant by keeping the pressing force of the roll 08 in constant. If the reverse torque of the spool 01 is kept in constant, as mentioned above, the maximum tension of the line changes in accordance with the diameter of winding of the line wound round the spool 01, because the torque required for rotating the spool 01 by the line is in proportion to the product of the tension of the line and the diameter of winding. If the diameter of winding of the line becomes small, the maximum tension of the line becomes large.
The construction of the double-bearing type reel is simple, and in this reel, the rotary torque of the spool 01 is adjusted by very skillful technique utilizing thermal expansions of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 effectively to reduce surely fluctuation of the maximum tension of the line corresponding to change of the diameter of winding of the line.
When a large tension acts on the line to pay out the line from the spool 01 and the diameter of wind becomes small, the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 are heated because the roller 08 is pressed to the roll surface 010 and rolls in this state with a part of the surface of the roller 08 frictionally contacted with the roll surface 010. As the result, the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 are subjected to thermal expansion. Since the diameter of the outer ring 07 is larger than that of the inner shaft 06, thermal expansion of the diameter of the roll surface 010 of the outer ring 07 is larger than that of the inner shaft 06. Therefore, as the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 are heated, the gap between the roll surfaces 010 becomes wider, the force to press the roller 08 against the roll surface 010 becomes weaker and the reverse torque of the spool 01 becomes smaller. Namely, as the line is drawn out longer from the spool 01, the reverse torque of the spool 01 is adjusted to be smaller by heating of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06. Namely, when the line is drawn out long and the diameter of winding on the spool 01 becomes small, the reverse torque of the spool 01 is adjusted to be weak, therefore, it can be prevented effectively that the maximum tension of the line becomes large abruptly.
Especially, in case that the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 are made of the same kind of material, as shown in FIG. 22, the tension of the line becomes lower gradually as amount of pay out of the line increases and the diameter of winding on the spool becomes smaller, contrary to the case of the aforementioned customary double-bearing type reel having the friction ring fixed on a surface of the spool (see FIG. 24). This means that the reverse torque of the spool 01 is sufficiently corrected by thermal expansions of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06. In this double bearing type reel, though abrupt change of the reverse torque of the spool 01 can be prevented utilizing thermal expansions of the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06, the reverse torque becomes somewhat small when amount of pay out of the line becomes large.
The reverse torque can be adjusted to an optimum value by reducing thermal expansion of the outer ring 07 and selecting materials for the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06. In order to reduce thermal expansion of the outer ring 07, the radiating fin 032 is provided on the outer ring 07 to cool the outer ring 07 forcibly, as shown in FIG. 19. The radiating fin 032 removes heat generated when the spool is rotated reversely by the line, from the outer ring 07 efficiently.
In addition, by using a material having a lower thermal expansion coefficient than that of the inner shaft 06 for the outer ring 07, lowering of the torque curve at the right side of FIG. 22 can be reduced. If thermal expansion of the outer ring 07 is smaller than that of the inner shaft 06, widening of the gap between the roll surfaces 010 can be reduced when the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 are heated, similarly to the case that the outer ring 07 is cooled forcibly.
FIG. 23 shows a torque curve (tension curve of the line) of the double-bearing type reel having the inner shaft 06 made of SUS440C, the outer ring 07 made of ELMAX of the UDDEHOLM Co. with smaller expansion than that of the inner shaft 06, and the radiating fin 032 on the outer ring 07. As shown in FIG. 23, by selecting materials for the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06 so that thermal expansion of the outer ring 07 is smaller than that of the inner shaft 06 and further providing the radiating fin 032 on the outer ring 07 to cool the outer ring 07 forcibly, maximum tension of the line does not change abruptly even if the line is drawn out long and the diameter of winding becomes small, and the tension curve of the line can be made uniform almost ideally. Thermal expansion coefficients of materials used for the outer ring 07 and the inner shaft 06, and the area of the radiating fin 032 are properly selected and designed so that the tension curve becomes flat.
However, in the double-bearing type reel described in the aforementioned Japanese patent Publication No. 2835583, as shown in FIG. 23, when the line is drawn out long and the diameter of winding becomes small, tension of the line has a tendency to rise. That is, a tendency of the customary reel that tension of the line becomes maximum when the line is drawn long and the diameter of winding becomes very small, has not been dissolved even now. Further, instantaneous changes of the line tension in course of drawing out the line also cannot be ignored.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the customary double-bearing type reel. According to the double-bearing type reel of the present invention, even if the same material is used for the outer ring and the inner shaft, by very simple construction, change of the line tension in accordance with change of the diameter of winding of the line owing to paying out of the line can be made uniform, instantaneous changes of the line tension can be made minute so that the line is not broken by a large fish, and the line does not drawn out unnecessarily by the large fish so that the large fish can be drawn near efficiently and recovered surely.
The present invention provides a double-bearing type reel having a spool for winding up a fishing line and a drag mechanism slipping to rotate the spool when a predetermined tension acts on the line wound round the spool; the drag mechanism comprising an outer ring, an inner shaft, a plurality of rollers arranged between the outer ring and the inner shaft so as to roll, and a torque adjusting section for moving the outer ring and the inner shaft relatively in an axial direction; the rollers being arranged between tapered roll surfaces which are an inner circumferential surface of the outer ring and an outer circumferential surface of the inner shaft, having center axes inclined against center axes of the outer ring and the inner shaft; the torque adjusting section adjusting slip torque of the outer ring and the inner shaft by pressing the outer ring and the inner shaft so as to move relatively in the axial direction, thereby the outer ring and the inner shaft being slipped relatively by a tension exceeding a predetermined value acting on the line wound round the spool to rotate the spool and wind off the line, wherein a circulation passage of lubricating oil is provided between the outer ring and the inner shaft passing through between the rollers.
According to this double-bearing type reel, even in heating condition of the drag mechanism when the line is drawn out from the spool, the rollers are pressed against the roll surfaces and the outer ring and the inner shaft are heated, lubricating oil circulates passing through between the outer ring and the inner shaft by pumping action owing to rotation and revolution of the rollers to cool the outer ring and the inner shaft uniformly and promote heat radiation from the outer surface of the outer ring. Accordingly, thermal expansions of the outer ring and the inner shaft are restrained, and especially thermal expansion of the outer ring is restrained even if the outer ring and the inner shaft are made of the same material. Therefore, when amount of pay out of the line becomes large and the diameter of winding of the line becomes small, lowering of the reverse torque of the spool and the tension acting on the line can be prevented effectively and fluctuation of the line tension can be made nearly uniform. Thus, the line is not broken by the large fish nor drawn out unnecessarily by the large fish, and the large fish can be drawn near effectively and recovered surely.
Compared with the double-bearing type reel of the prior art, instantaneous changes of the line tension can be made minute so that operation of the double-bearing type reel can be made smooth and endurance of the line can be improved. It is considered that the instantaneous changes of the line tension can be made minute because the outer ring and the inner shaft are cooled uniformly by circulation of the lubricating oil, therefore no axial and circumferential heat strain (unevenness) of the roll surfaces occurs, and the rollers roll smoothly. In addition, it is considered that the rollers roll smoothly because the roll surfaces are always supplied with the lubricating oil owing to circulation of the lubricating oil carried out forcibly by the pump action of the rollers so that a instantaneous oil exhaustion does not occurs.
The inner shaft may be formed with a plurality of through holes having both ends opened, extending in a direction of a center axis of the inner shaft and arranged circumferentially at regular intervals, so that the lubricating oil circulates through a space between the outer ring and the inner shaft and the through holes.
Since a circulation passage of the lubricating oil is formed, the aforementioned effects can be achieved surely. The double-bearing type reel can be made light by making the inner shaft light.
The outer ring may have a heat radiating fin for cooling the outer ring, thereby thermal expansion of the outer ring is restrained when the line is paid out from the spool and the drag mechanism is heated.
As the result, since the outer ring is more cooled by heat radiation from the fin, thermal expansion of the outer ring is more restrained when the line is paid out from the spool to heat the drag mechanism, to surely prevent excessive lowering of the reverse torque of the spool and tension acting on the line, so that fluctuation of the line tension can be made uniform.
The radiating fin may be formed by an annular or spiral thin plate having a plurality of cuts disposed in a lengthwise direction. As the result, since the cuts of the radiating fin stir the air when the outer ring rotates, cooling effect of the outer ring can be improved.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a double-bearing type reel having a spool for winding up a fishing line and a drag mechanism slipping to rotate the spool when a predetermined tension acts on the line wound round the spool; the drag mechanism comprising an outer ring, an inner shaft, a plurality of rollers arranged between the outer ring and the inner shaft so as to roll, and a torque adjusting section for moving the outer ring and the inner shaft relatively in an axial direction; the rollers being arranged between tapered roll surfaces which are an inner circumferential surface of the outer ring and an outer circumferential surface of the inner shaft, having center axes inclined against center axes of the outer ring and the inner shaft; the torque adjusting section adjusting slip torque of the outer ring and the inner shaft by pressing the outer ring and the inner shaft so as to move relatively in the axial direction, thereby the outer ring and the inner shaft being slipped relatively by a tension exceeding a predetermined value acting on the line wound round the spool to rotate the spool and wind off the line, wherein parting means for parting the outer ring and the inner shaft from each other when the drag mechanism is released is provided.
This double-bearing type reel can be brought in a state of free spool surely when the drag is released, so that the line can be paid out without resistance surely in the state the drag is not applied. Therefore, a fishing mode that a float is floated left to the tide while baits are scattered can be carried out easily.
The outer ring may be connected to the spool through a connecting ring which rotates integrally with the outer ring and is movable relatively to the outer ring in an axial direction, and the parting means may include spring means for forcing the outer ring so as to part from the connecting ring.
The parting means can be incorporated in the drag mechanism utilizing a vacant space, so as not to obstruct forming the circulation passage of the lubricating oil, and with a reasonable layout. In addition, the construction can be simplified.
A plurality of connecting grooves may be formed on an outer circumferential surface of the connecting ring, a plurality of connecting grooves may be formed on an inner circumferential surface of a connecting cylindrical portion of the outer ring, a steel ball may be disposed between each corresponding connecting grooves of the connecting ring and the connecting cylindrical portion to connect the connecting ring and the connecting cylindrical portion so as to rotate integrally with each other, corresponding dent grooves may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the connecting ring and the inner circumferential surface of the connecting cylindrical portion for receiving the spring means, and the corresponding dent grooves may be adjacent to the corresponding connecting grooves in a circumferential direction.
The means for connecting the outer ring and the connecting ring so as to rotate integrally with each other and to move in the axial direction relatively to each other (comprising the connecting grooves and the steel balls), and the parting means (comprising the dent grooves and the spring means) can be incorporated in the drag mechanism with a minimum space, so as not to obstruct forming the circulation passage of the lubricating oil, and with a reasonable layout. In addition, the construction can be simplified.
A casing may be fitted over the connecting ring and the outer ring.
The casing facilitates sealing up of the drag mechanism, prevents invading of sea water and foreign materials into the drag mechanism and contributes to improvement of endurance of the double-bearing type reel.
The casing may have a radiating fin for cooling the outer ring, thereby thermal expansion of the outer ring is restrained when the line is paid out from the spool and the drag mechanism is heated.
Since the outer ring is cooled through the casing by heat radiation from the radiating fin, thermal expansion of the outer ring is restrained when the line is paid out from the spool to heat the drag mechanism. Therefore, excessive lowering of the reverse torque of the spool at reduced diameter of winding of the line and excessive lowering of the tension acting on the line are prevented surely to make fluctuation of the line tension uniform.
According to further aspect of the invention, there is provided a double-bearing type reel having a spool for winding up a fishing line and a drag mechanism slipping to rotate the spool when a predetermined tension acts on the line wound round the spool; the drag mechanism comprising an outer ring, an inner shaft, a plurality of rollers arranged between the outer ring and the inner shaft so as to roll, and a torque adjusting section for moving the outer ring and the inner shaft relatively in an axial direction; the rollers being arranged between tapered roll surfaces which are an inner circumferential surface of the outer ring and an outer circumferential surface of the inner shaft, having center axes inclined against center axes of the outer ring and the inner shaft; the torque adjusting section adjusting slip torque of the outer ring and the inner shaft by pressing the outer ring and the inner shaft so as to move relatively in the axial direction, thereby the outer ring and the inner shaft being slipped relatively by a tension exceeding a predetermined value acting on the line wound round the spool to rotate the spool and wind off the line, wherein the torque adjusting section comprises a drag lever provided outside of a side cover; a screw member fixed to the drag lever penetrating the side cover so as to rotate relatively; a nut member provided inside of the side cover to engage with the screw member to be kept so as not to rotate; and transmission means for transmitting axial movement of the nut screw member to the outer ring through spring means, and the drag lever has a stopper means capable of once stopping rotation of the drag lever in a direction to rapidly increase slip torque of the outer ring and the inner shaft.
It is prevented that the drag lever is excessively rotated suddenly. Therefore, an impacting tension does not act on the line and breaking of the line can be prevented.
The stopper means may have a handling section positioned near a handling section of the drag lever, thereby the handling section of the stopper means can be operated concurrently with operation of the drag lever. As the result, operation of the stopper means becomes very easy.
The nut member may have a gear formed on an outer periphery, and an adjusting shaft member penetrating the side cover may have a tip end formed with a gear for engaging with the gear of the nut member, thereby drag load can be corrected by operating the adjusting shaft member from outside of the side caver to adjust axial position of the nut member.
By rotating the adjusting shaft member to correct a preset of the drag load for example, the drag load can be adjusted widely and finely.